Naomi Adler was born in Israel. A Montessori teacher by training, she worked for The Polka Theatre for Children for many years. She has spent much of the past twenty-five years running workshops for people with special needs in hospitals, day centers, special schools and community centers. Naomi has traveled extensively all her life and has worked in Bulgaria and Slovenia. Amanda Hall lives and works in England. Her many highly successful commissions include The Barefoot Book of Stories from the Sea (Barefoot Books, 1996) and, more recently, Prince of the Birds, The Storytelling Star, Jonah and the Whale and The Stolen Sun. Amanda is an enthusiastic traveler and has spent time in Africa, India and North America as well as Europe.